A Bahraini who has slapped an Asian expatriate has been arrested alongside his accomplices, the authorities said. A video clip of the rare physical assault was circulated on the internet on Saturday, triggering wide condemnation and sparking calls for action.

The clip showed a well-built man approaching the expatriate and slapping him hard, causing other people who were not shown to laugh and make sarcastic remarks.

No reason was provided to explain the assault, but the aggressor at the time of the attack was carrying a water bucket that could suggest the Asian expatriate was washing a car. The victim was visibly shaken by the aggression.

Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, an avid social media user, was among the first to express his outrage and condemnation.

“He came all the way from his country, putting up with estrangement and separation from family to work so hard for some money. And then, a despicable person comes along and slaps him. May God grant him his rights from the aggressor,” he posted to his 233,142 followers on his Tweet account.

The police later said they arrested four suspects over the incident.

“The police of the Southern Governorate, acting upon the circulation on social media of the assault clip, arrested four people implicated in the incident,” the police said.

The four people were arrested following the identification of the victim and they will be referred to the competent legal authorities, the police said.

Expatriates make up around half of the total population of Bahrain of 1.2 million people. They are mainly unskilled labourers from Asian countries working in the construction and service sectors. Several labourers offer to wash and clean cars in neighbourhoods and use bicycles to move from one area to the other.